Langley Township council mulls 159-unit housing project

An 11-acre property off 208th Street in Willoughby could become the site of a 159-unit housing development.

Sunmark Townhomes has applied for a rezoning on the site, which stretches west from 208th Street, and is shaped like a sideways letter T, with the arms stretching to 74B Avenue and 76 Avenue, to build 151 townhouses, a single family home, three rowhouses, and four semi-detached homes.

If approved, the northern arm of the T would be left for watercourses and trees, while the rest of the site is developed.

The rezoning includes a request for a variance for higher density on the developable portion of the site, because of the inability to build anything on the northern arm. Under existing rules, there would be more lower-density housing types, rather than mostly townhouses.

However, the protection of the Streamside Protection and Enhancement Area (SPEA) reduces the developable parts of the site.

If the project goes through, the SPEA will be restored with native vegetation, and there will be a restrictive covenenant placed on its future use. A five-year monitoring and maintenance program will be applied to that piece of the land.

At the Township council meeting on Monday, May 29, Mayor Eric Woodward noted that he has been asking about the Sunmark application for some time, because developing that site would provide for further widening of 208th Street, and there have been long delays for the project.

If the project goes forward, it is expected to pay $2.5 million in Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) which the Township can use for building parks, rec facilities, libraries, and other community facilities.

Council unanimously approved the first and second readings of the rezonings, and a public hearing is to follow at a future meeting before council makes its final decision.

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